How to prevent employee stress from spiraling into harassment

COVID-19 has been an emotional roller coaster for employees, and their toxic workplaces aren’t making things any better.

Workplace harassment is on the rise and has been exacerbated by the pressures of remote work, according to a study by Project Include, a diversity advocacy firm. A quarter of employees say they have experienced gender-based harassment or toxicity, and of those, 98% were women and non-binary employees.

While there’s no excuse for this behavior in the workplace, employers and employees have been dealing with elevated levels of stress and anxiety, which could be causing them to act out, says Job van der Voort, CEO and co-founder of HR tech company Remote. 

“In general, I think people act worse when their life is not going well,” van der Voort says. “For many people, this past year was the worst possible time in their lives.”

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The pandemic amplified many of the stressors and discontent workers had been feeling. Eighty-five percent of employees say they experienced increased anxiety during COVID, the Project Include study found. Eighty-five percent of employees say they are unhappy with their current job, according to data from Gallup.

The Project Include survey connected burnout, anxiety and poor mental health to the increased instances of bad behavior and harassment in the workplace. Twenty-three percent of employees say that the push toward working more hours made them behave inappropriately at work. Gallup data found that 24% said burnout contributed to anger or hostility at work on a daily basis.

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“Employers simply aren’t aware of the reality of how people are doing,” van der Voort says. “Especially in a remote setting, it can be hard to see it and there might be pressure on people to not share. If you haven’t created a culture where people can talk about these things and report poor behavior, it becomes really hard to deal with it.”

Employers need to act immediately and consciously to prevent stress and anger from spiraling out of control. Managers should set an example by communicating openly about what’s appropriate and take action when lines are crossed.

“You have to act on this continuously and show that you’re making changes,” van der Voort says. “For example, make sure that there are policies in place that protect people and allow them to report on harassment. Talking about this publicly shows you’re taking it seriously.”

Additionally, creating work environments that allow employees to take breaks and tend to their mental health is an important step to making sure people are taking care of themselves, van der Voort says. Making sure employees utilize their PTO, prioritizing mental health and sharing available tools and leading by example will help workers feel supported and prevent them from lashing out.

“As an employer, your goals should be to protect the well-being of all of your employees,” he says. “There's a lot of work to be done to make sure you have a company where harassment is something that's dealt with and not something that just happens.”